15,311 Shares in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA) Bought by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 15,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Avista by 202.2% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 57,617 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,233,000 after acquiring an additional 38,550 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avista by 9.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 420,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $16,295,000 after purchasing an additional 34,829 shares during the period. A. D. Beadell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Avista in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,340,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Avista by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,828,230 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,857,000 after purchasing an additional 27,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Avista during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,672,000. 85.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. This represents a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.96% of the company's stock.

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Avista Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:AVA traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.03. The stock had a trading volume of 678,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 593,938. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $33.00 and a twelve month high of $40.23. The company has a market capitalization of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.66.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.86 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $487.48 million. Avista had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 10.24%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.02%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is presently 86.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th.

Avista Profile

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.